Town & County News

Local Organizations Benefit From Gordie Howe Community Benefits Plan

by Gordie Howe International Bridge Views: 64

June 2024 marks five years of delivery for the Gordie Howe International Bridge Community Benefits Plan, with the project team unwavering in its commitment to enhance the communities closest to the project.

This week, thirteen organizations serving Sandwich/west Windsor and Delray/Southwest Detroit are the latest recipients of $200,000 (CDN) in Community Benefits Plan funding.

The funding is part of the Community Organization Investment initiative, which offers grants up to $25,000 (CDN) to organizations serving the communities closest to the project.

Seven organizations from Windsor and six from Detroit were selected following an application and review process. Funded projects will be delivered between July 2024 and June 2025, including:

Canadian Initiatives

  • Windsor Symphony Orchestra: Education, community outreach and concert programming
  • CJAM Student Media: 2024 Higher Grounds Music Festival
  • Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation: Kickstarting the West
  • Society of Saint Vincent de Paul: Fridge/freezer purchase and programming support
  • Bike Windsor Essex: Virtual guided bicycle tours
  • Assumption University: Father Joe Quinn Education Series
  • Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary: Family activities and events

US Initiatives

  • New City Kids: Transformational Teen Life Internship program
  • Hispanic Police Officers’ Association of Michigan – Detroit Chapter: Grants for Youth Sports in SW Detroit
  • Southwest Detroit Business Association: Experience Southwest Detroit
  • Trinity-St. Mark’s Pantry and Gardens: Feed the Homeless
  • Unity in Our Community Timebank: Let’s Get Moving
  • Southwest Economic Solutions: Literacy programming at Campbell

To date, this initiative has invested $700,000 (CDN) in events, programming and infrastructure improvements. All funding recipients and their projects align with community priorities identified during previous public consultation.

Following five years of successful delivery, the Community Organization Investment initiative has been extended for an additional year, with the final application period set to launch in November 2024. With these additions, over 100 projects have been or are being delivered collaboratively through the Neighbourhood Infrastructure Strategy with the help of over 70 local partners.

Author: Gordie Howe International Bridge

Created in 2012, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) is a not-for-profit Crown corporation which reports to Parliament through the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. As such, WDBA is wholly owned by the Government of Canada and the powers necessary to carry out the Crown corporation’s mandate are vested in the board that directs it.

WDBA is responsible for the delivery of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, through a public-private partnership (P3). It is also responsible for project oversight of the construction and the operation of the new crossing. As the operator of the new bridge, WDBA will set and collect all tolls.

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